Is Kelp the New Kale?

Kale had better watch its back. According to The New Yorker, there’s another healthy, sustainable farmed green that entrepreneurs, scientists, and farmers believe could be the future of the human diet. They’re pushing for seaweed to be the next big thing. Seaweed, or kelp (which is a type of seaweed), is “one of the world’s most sustainable and nutritious crops. It absorbs dissolved nitrogen, phosphorous, and carbon dioxide directly from the sea—its footprint is negative—and proliferates at a terrific rate. Plentiful, healthy, and virtuous, kelp is the culinary equivalent of an electric car."

While many Americans might not be crazy about the flavor of seaweed, if we are taught about the health benefits of it in the same way that we were taught about kale (from pioneering chefs like Dan Barber and celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow), we’ll learn to love it. Seaweed is already widely consumed in many parts of Asia, and seaweed snacks outsell kale chips in the U.S., so there is a definite possibility that the greens of the ocean could become the next big ingredient.